Sales tax collections across the Golden Triangle continue to show growth from last year and maintain a healthy pace with its expected yearly budget projections.
Columbus received $906,713 in sales tax diversions from the Mississippi Department of Revenue in January, up $18,728 from January 2022 ($887,985).
The city has collected $3,772,033 this fiscal year — which began Oct. 1 — compared to $3,455,098 this time last year, marking an 8.7 percent improvement from last year.
Sales tax diversions run on a three-month window, in which they are collected by retailers one month, sent to MDOR the next and then dispersed to cities and counties the third. Therefore, January diversions generally reflect sales from November.
Chief Financial Officer James Brigham told The Dispatch the city’s sales tax diversions have shown slow but constant growth since the new fiscal year started, consistently outpacing the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
“It all seems to be a slow upward trend, and they’re (diversions) all kind of in the same neighborhood,” Brigham said. “And I’m still looking for the city to exceed $11 million in sales tax revenue this year.
The city’s 2-percent restaurant special tax also showed growth this month, bringing in $175,738, compared to $157,341 in January 2021. The city has received $742,070 so far this fiscal year, compared to $689,925 last.
The 2-percent hotel/motel tax brought in $42,074, compared to $29,547 in January. Year to date, the city has collected $158,250, compared to $129,423 this time last year.
Starkville
Starkville received $885,832 in sales tax diversions this month, compared to $705,567 in January 2022.
The city’s fiscal YTD collections sit at $3,150,379, marking an 8.3-percent improvement over last year. The city is roughly one-third of the way through its fiscal year and has collected roughly one-third of its budgeted $9.3 million in sales tax revenue for the year.
Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch she credits some of that success to Starkville’s retail and restaurant businesses.
“I am delighted that we continue to see the enthusiastic support of our retail community and our restaurants,” Spruill said. “I believe this trend will continue as we continue to be a place where people want to shop and live and visit.”
According to figures released with its sales tax numbers, the city has continued to see growth in its 3-percent restaurant sales tax diversions but has fallen in its 1-percent hotel tax as compared to last year.
The city received $366,647 in restaurant tax collections, an 8.9-percent increase from January 2022 ($335,089). The city has received $1,515,900 this fiscal year, compared to $1,411,672 by January 2022.
The hotel tax brought in $22,188 this month, marking a 24-percent decrease from January 2022 ($28,243). Despite the fall from last January, the city has received $87,047 in hotel tax diversions so far this fiscal year, compared to $79,309 by this time last year.
West Point
West Point received $228,208 in this month’s sales tax diversions from MDR, compared to $213,632 in January 2022.
So far, the city has collected $1,667,844 this fiscal year — which began July 1 — marking a 7.42-percent increase from last year ($1,548,491).
It also marks the third straight month the city has exceeded its 2021 fiscal year collections, following a slow start to the fiscal year.
Mayor Rod Bobo said the sales tax in West Point has continued with upward momentum in the last few months, due in part, in his opinion, to the recent addition of certain retail stores and restaurants like Pizza Hut, which opened earlier this month.
“I think it’s obvious what’s happening in West Point,” he said. “Our tax base is broadening. We’ve added restaurants, and we’ve added some retail stores. And I think the uptick you see in sales tax is attributed to that.”
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